Tulare County Animal Services provides dog licensing services for all of the unincorporated areas of Tulare County. If your dog gets lost, a valid license will identify the dog and his/her owner and allow us to reunite lost pets with their owners. Having your dog licensed also shows that your dog has a current rabies vaccination. Plus, dog licensing is the law.
To make the process easier, Tulare County Animal Services is now accepting online payments for dog licensing. Both new and renewal dog licensing can be done online along with updating information on your dog.
If you are not sure if your address is in the city limits or county please click on the Tulare County Elections website and enter your address. If you live within the city limits of Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Lindsay, Porterville, Tulare, Visalia or Woodlake, please contact your city's local dog licensing department.
Microchipping animals provides a greater ability to reunite pets with owners and decrease the number of animals coming into shelters. Tulare County recently revised its Animal Ordinances effective as of June 1, 2019. These revised ordinances approved by the Board of Supervisors require all dogs in the unincorporated areas of Tulare County to be implanted with a microchip and the information provided to Tulare County Animal Services.
To help county residents comply with this new requirement, Tulare County Animal Services will be giving away 500 free microchips to Tulare County residents during the month of June. Microchip vouchers can be obtained on our website and will be available until they run out; a counter will indicate how many microchips are left. There is no per person limit, but they are reserved for owned dogs. A photo ID is necessary to verify residency when bringing dogs to the shelter for microchipping. Dogs must be able to be handled, so no aggressive dogs will be eligible.
A microchip is one of the best ways to protect your dog or cat if it gets lost. This tiny chip, about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted under the skin at the shoulder blades; it cannot be lost, worn out, or removed. If your pet ever gets lost and is taken to an animal shelter or a veterinary clinic, the animal will be scanned to see if he or she is microchipped. If so, the identification number appears, and the pet’s owner can be found, because the number is linked to their information in a database.
Tulare County Animal Services has received a $28,687 grant from PetSmart Charities® , the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, to help fuel its spay and neuter efforts in Tulare County. With the help of the grant, Tulare County Animal Services is offering spay and neuter assistance for owned pets in Tulare County.
Click here to download the Press Release
Click here to download the fillable spay/neuter request form
Completed forms can be emailed to tcanimalservices@tularehhsa.org, faxed to (559) 713-3716, dropped off at our shelter, or mailed to Tulare County Animal Services, 14131 Avenue 256, Visalia, CA 93292.
Tulare County Animal Services strives to improve the safety and quality of life for the animals and residents of Tulare County. Therefore, to clarify and enhance the ordinances, revisions were approved by the Board of Supervisors at their April 30th meeting. Community members in the unincorporated areas of Tulare County are affected by the changes.
“This has been a three-year process in collaboration with the Animal Services Advisory Committee and the Ordinance and Standards Review Ad Hoc Committee, with review of industry best practices and extensive research and review from the County Counsel's office, culminating in meetings with community stakeholders and the public,” says Animal Services Division Manager Patrick Hamblin. “Changes to the ordinances continue to bring Tulare County Animal Services online with other forward-thinking counties and the State of California."
The Animal Services Advisory Committee has been integral to the proposed changes. Public meetings held last fall, and public comment through our website resulted in additional revisions to the ordinances.
Key changes include:
The ordinance revisions expand definitions to create clarity, acknowledge the county’s pet overpopulation issue, and maintain the commitment to the mission, vision, and values for both the Animal Care and Adoptions facility operations and the Animal Control function.
